Manchester: Sir Alex Ferguson may have admitted defeat in his quest to sign stellar players such as Luka Modric, Samir Nasri and Alexis Sanchez but his refusal to give up on Wesley Sneijder shows just how important he thinks the Dutch midfielder could be as the Manchester United manager crafts what could prove to be the last team of his trophy-laden reign.
The late Sir Matt Busby famously built three teams during his reign as Manchester United manager and while Ferguson has already eclipsed his celebrated predecessor’s achievements he is aiming to repeat the trick in a bid to lead the Premier League champions back to the summit of European football next season with Sneijder the centrepiece of his masterplan.
Sir Alex has already bolstered his attacking ranks with Ashley Young and his defensive
options with Phil Jones as he looks to a long-term future without Ryan Giggs and Rio Ferdinand, but he has identified Inter and Netherlands midfielder Sneijder for the 'here and now' as he sets his sights on Champions League glory after being pipped to the trophy by Barcelona at Wembley last season.
Goal.com has learned that Sir Alex - seeking to fill the void left by Paul Scholes’ retirement - rates the player so highly that he is refusing to give up on signing Sneijder even though he would cost United 35 million Pounds and would be looking for a salary in the region of a mind-boggling 250,000 Pounds per week which would give the playmaker parity with Wayne Rooney in financial terms.
A source close to the club said: “It’s all a bit more than they were wanting to pay but they are trying to work out a way that they can accommodate Sneijder even though he would be so expensive.
“Sneijder has said that he is happy to stay at Inter Milan but Sir Alex really fancies signing him because he would fit the bill perfectly for United so it has not been ruled out.”
Even before Scholes called it quits, the need for Ferguson to re-structure was put firmly into perspective when Barcelona crushed his charges 3-1 in the one-sided Champions League final at Wembley last May.
Lionel Messi might have stolen the limelight thanks to his superb individual performance but the way Sir Alex's midfield was over-run illustrated where change was most desperately needed because the likes of Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez ran rings around Michael Carrick and Giggs.
It was in the midfield trenches that the game was won and lost and so if Ferguson is to end his glorious, trophy-laden reign on the ultimate high he needs to recruit a play-making midfielder of the calibre of Nasri, Modric or Sneijder.
With Sir Alex accepting that Manchester City could entice Nasri away from Arsenal and after being told that Modric is not for sale by Tottenham, he is now weighing up a way to lure the 27-year-old Dutchman away from Italy.
It will not be easy to keep the Old Trafford wage structure in tact but the wily old master is currently examining ways that a deal might be struck to accommodate Sneijder without destroying the Old Trafford wage structure that saw Rooney became the club’s top earner after he submitted a transfer request last season.
Sir Alex is keen to take advantage of the Glazer family’s willingness to spend big in the transfer market this summer to invigorate the Premier League champions’ renewed challenge for honours as he seeks to re-shape a team vanquished by Barcelona in their last outing, and in Sneijder he would be able to call upon a player who knows what it takes to win the Champions League thanks to his exploits with Inter two years ago.
"Sir Alex is seeking to re-shape a team vanquished by Barcelona"
Busby set the template for team-building when he put together the side that won the 1948 FA Cup Final against Blackpool before assembling an outfit that would become known as the ‘Busby Babes’ that included Bobby Charlton and Duncan Edwards before tragedy struck in 1958 when eight of his players died in the Munich air disaster.
The Scot overcame serious injury to re-build the club in the face of such awful misery and with the likes of Charlton, George Best, Paddy Crerand and Denis Law on song together, United would go on to become the first English team in history to win the European Cup by beating Portuguese side Benfica 4-1 at Wembley.
It is that glorious and highly emotional night backdrop that has been an inspiration to Sir Alex since he took the helm at Old Trafford in 1986 when he began the task of rejuvenating a club that had grown accustomed to living in the shadow of bitter rivals Liverpool during the 1970s and 1980s.
After building the side that would win the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1991 thanks mainly to the driving force that was England skipper Bryan Robson, Ferguson went on to end the club’s 26-year wait for a domestic title in 1993 when their talismanic captain was largely a peripheral figure.
Ferguson has built and re-built throughout his spell at Old Trafford as the club have successfully overcame the departure of key players such as Roy Keane, Paul Ince and Cristiano Ronaldo but now the stage is set for the manager to do it all again as he aims for the pinnacle of club football.
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